The article at https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/hydrogen-twice-as-powerful-a-greenhouse-gas-as-thought-before-uk-government-study/2-1-1200115 suggests green hydrogen is not necessarily a good substitute for fossil fuels.
Green hydrogen doesn't put carbon into the atmosphere, but hydrogen itself is a greenhouse gas. If too much of it leaks into the atmosphere it may contribute as much to global warming as the fossil fuels it replaces.
IMO the best way avoid this issue would be to not transport the hydrogen and to not fuel vehicles with it.
Solar and windmill farms of the future could be outfitted with electrolysis equipment, hydrogen storage tanks and fuel cells. At times of low grid demand, excess electric energy would be used to produce hydrogen via electrolysis. The hydrogen would be accumulated in storage tanks. At times when the grid needs more power the hydrogen would be sent to the fuel cells to generate electricity.
With closed systems for generating, storing and later consuming the hydrogen, leakage would not be an issue.
A negative: There would be energy losses (approx. 30%) associated with converting electric to hydrogen and converting back.
A bonus: Grid power leveling. Potentially 100% of grid power could be sourced from wind and solar.
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| Toyota's Hydrogen Cartridge Concept |
This other article (from https://www.engadget.com/toyotas-prototype-cartridge-is-a-way-to-make-hydrogen-portable-120024714.html) concerns Toyota's cartridge concept for hydrogen storage/transport/use by consumers.
The electric energy equivalent of the hydrogen in one cartridge is 3 kW hours (about 50 cents worth of electric energy at the 15 cents/kWh typical electric price today in USA).
To fill up an EV for a 300 mile trip one needs 75 kW hrs. So one would have to connect 25 of these hydrogen cartridges to their car! For home electric needs (in USA typically 10 to 20 kWh per day) one would go through 3 to 7 of these cartridges each day.
Will this concept fly? I think not. Well, not for Americans any time soon..

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